Rejoice in the Lord (Phil 4) Intro Acts 16, Paul, Silas, and Luke are cast into prison at Philippi. “About midnight, they were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the other prisoners were listening” (16:25). How can we understand this?
Review • Ch 1, “Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ” (1:27). • Ch 2, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus” (2:5-8). • Ch 3, “That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings” (3:10).
Genuine love (4:1) “My beloved and longed-for brethren, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, beloved.”
Euodia and Syntyche (4:2-3) “I implore Euodia and I implore Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord.”
Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! (4:4-9) • He gives them many exhortations to rejoice in service to Christ and each other (1:25, 2:2, 2:16-18, 3:1, 4:10, etc…) • And he gives them many words of comfort: stand fast, the Lord is at hand, be anxious for nothing, the God of peace will be with you, my God shall supply all your needs….
Again, Paul's own example (4:10 ff.) “I rejoiced in the Lord greatly in your care for me.” He's giving thanks in all circumstances. And he's commending them for serving God by caring for his needs.
Conclusion Calvin, “God has so constituted the church from the beginning that death is is the way to life, and the cross is the way to victory.” Watts, “...glory begun below...' |